In recognition of 2023 Filipino American History Month, the National Museum of the U.S. Navy hosts a panel discussion with two Filipino American graduates of the U.S. Naval Academy. Ms. Rowena Musico, one of the first two Filipino American women to graduate from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1983 and Rear Admiral Patrick Piercey, a 1985 Academy graduate, talk about their journeys to become U.S. naval officers, and the legacy of Filipino Americans in the U.S. Navy.
The discussion is moderated by Director, Director’s Action Group Denise Rucker Krepp.
Rowena Musico is a 1983 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy. Her first assignment was as a Special Agent with the Naval Investigative Service (now called NCIS). She then served in Chief of Naval Operations (OPNAV-01 Manpower) as a budget officer. Musico’s last Navy assignment was at Naval Station Pearl Harbor Facilities. After leaving the Navy, Musico served as a Senior Auditor with KPMG Honolulu. She supervised the annual audits of non-profit organizations such as the American Red Cross (local chapter) and the Rehabilitation Hospital of the Pacific. Leaving public accounting and returning to the mainland, Musico dedicated 25+ years to the telecommunications, software development and biotech industries in her hometown of San Diego, California. She has also worked for Qualcomm, Inc. and Sony Electronics, Inc. joint venture during the late 1990's. In the early 2000s, she was responsible for capturing the costing differences for Intuit, Inc. (TurboTax, Quicken, and Quickbooks), and provided accounting support for a biotech start-up later purchased by Werfen LLC, a Spanish International Conglomerate.
Patrick Piercey is a retired Rear Admiral and a native of Clinton, Oklahoma. He was commissioned in 1985 and graduated, with distinction, from the U.S. Naval Academy, with a Bachelor of Science in Systems Engineering. Piercey holds a Master in Military Arts and Science; from U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, and the Armed Forces Staff College. His active duty assignments included Commander, Carrier Strike Group 9 embarked aboard USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) and USS George Washington (CVN 73); Commanding Officer and Executive Officer, USS Bunker Hill (CG 52); Reactor Officer, USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74); Commanding Officer, USS Howard (DDG 83); Engineer Officer, First Lieutenant and Auxiliaries Division Officer, USS Mississippi (CGN 40); and Combat Systems Officer and Weapons Officer, USS Thomas S. Gates (CG 51). His shore assignments included policy planner, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Strategy and Concepts Branch (N513); White House Fellow and special assistant to the Deputy Director, White House Office of Management and Budget; policy planner, Joint Staff, directorate for Strategy and Policy (J-5), Space and Ballistic Missile Branch; executive assistant to the assistant to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; deputy director of Plans, Policy and Strategy (EC-J5), U. S. European Command; director, for Maritime Operations (N04) , U.S. Pacific Fleet; commander, Naval Surface Force Atlantic; and director for Operations, U. S. Indo-Pacific Command. Piercey’s last assignment before retiring was as Chief of Staff, U. S. European Command, Stuttgart in June 2018.
Note: This is an “online” virtual program and will be aired on the museum’s Facebook page on the date and time indicated. If you have problems accessing the museum’s Facebook page, email David Barker, at david.a.barker16.civ@us.navy.mil
